Album Review, Colourful House - Zoe Schwarz, Rob Koral & Friends - Rootstime, Belgium
https://www.rootstime.be/index.html?https://www.rootstime.be/CD%20REVIEUW/2026/FEB1/CD4.html
December 2025 Issue [Release date 31.10.25]
Review by Eric Schuurmans (CHAT GPT translation)
ZOË SCHWARZ is a British singer-songwriter, born in Bahrain into a military family, so travel is quite literally in her blood. She discovered The Clash and The Stranglers through John Peel on a crackling transistor radio under her blankets at night. Then came the lightning-bolt moment when her uncle introduced teenage Zoë to Billie Holiday.
Since 2012 she has been working as BLUE COMMOTION together with guitarist/songwriter Rob Koral. The two had already collaborated for some time, but this project grew out of their shared musical interests, with complete artistic freedom for all members as a core principle. Some compare Zoë, because of her versatility, to a chameleon — an amalgam in which elements of Janis Joplin, Billie Holiday and Nina Simone merge into one. In 2017 the band reached the finals of the British Blues Challenge, and in 2018 they received two Blues Award nominations: Best Female Vocalist and Album of the Year. “The Blues and I Should Have a Party” was released in 2018 and was Blue Commotion’s fifth studio album. The follow-up, album number six, “Chameleon”, appeared in 2020.
After some 20 years, “COLOURFUL HOUSE” is the seventh studio album by the established vocal powerhouse Zoë Schwarz and the renowned guitarist Rob Koral. The album features 14 brand-new, original songs that masterfully blend blues, pop, funk and rock. Alongside Zoë (vocals) and Rob (guitar), we hear the elegant Hammond organ work of longtime collaborator Pete Whittaker, together with the sublime drummer Eddie John. To give the recordings extra punch and colour, additional musicians were brought in: bass guitar (Anth Caplen & Paddy Blight), horns (Ian Ellis – tenor sax; Andy Urquhart – trumpet), and backing vocals (Craig Alexander).
Listening to the tracks on the album, it quickly becomes clear — as so often — that this music cannot be forced into a single box. Whether it’s blues, jazz, rock or psychedelic… who cares, really? You have to look at the whole picture. The album opener “Venus Ain’t So Far Away” (lyrics by DJ and reviewer Pete Feenstra) ends in a sublime psychedelic soundscape, while the dreamy “Your Love Hurts” clearly nods to Fleetwood Mac. “What Can I Do” is distinctly funky, the title track carries the scent of the sixties, and “Hear My Cries” is a slow blues à la lettre, with influences of The Doors and Whittaker taking the lead.
“See You Soon” sounds joyful thanks to Zoë’s vocals, and the swinging “Out the Front Door” is the most infectious track — and also very radio-friendly. The uptempo “City of Blues” brings a breath of fresh air; the song, with lyrics written by Feenstra, is about the Windy City, Chicago. “There’s a Cold Wind a Coming” is not an extension of that theme but rather a song in which Zoë once again showcases her vocal prowess — from a raw, screaming outburst to a pure, sustained note; yes, she can do it effortlessly. We close with a bonus track, the boogie “It Ain’t Easy”.
In the end, “COLOURFUL HOUSE” by ZOË, ROB KORAL & Friends is a coherent, varied and adventurous album that is well worth listening to more than once.
